Long Hood Forward
Long Hood Forward is the 18th episode of Rails of Highland Valley and the 2nd episode of Season 4. Plot Long hood forward means running the locomotive back to front instead of with the short hood facing the direction of travel. N&W and SOU did this a lot back in the day, but this has become a decreasing practice, though it sometimes happens on locals and periodically on the NS. It is June, and the engines are working as hard as they can, and roaming the system. Today, Nicholas is working a local in South Carolina with Kaleb and Chuck. Nicholas is impressed with how well Chuck is running long hood forward. Nicholas joins Will after work where they talk for a little bit before Will has to return to work. Will takes 28T to Charleston, 237 to Atlanta, and 212 to New Jersey. After Will returns to the northern region, Nicholas stays in ex-Southern territory for a little while longer before he finally gets to return home. His first assignment since going back to Highland Valley is working a local with Will. After they meet Harrison on the top of the mountain, they collect their cars and proceed to Conway Yard. Because they were both facing forward on the way there, they are to run long hood forward home, rather than turning around. They tell Shawn and Lily about their job later on, where Will starts believing that running long hood forward at high speeds won't be a problem for him, despite it being a bit dangerous. Will talks endlessly about his idea while doing his job the next day. Despite being discouraged, he is still overconfident and determined to show off. Two days later, he is assigned to take a short freight train. He gets his chance to run long hood forward when the turntable is occupied by another engine and that he won't have much time to turn around. As he starts his trip, he picks up speed, startling other engines such as Nicholas, Josiah, and Shawn. Will is having too much fun going fast backwards (even when being warned by his crew) until he notices a red signal too late and almost causes a collision with William, who is traveling in the opposite direction on the single track. The next day, Mr. Edwards and the Tidewater Yardmaster reprimand Will for doing something dangerous like that, and Will is reassigned to slow locals for the next few days, which he does not like. He is teased by Spencer, which gets Nicholas to talk to Skips the next day. When Will's punishment is over, Mr. Edwards tells the engines that Nicholas and Will are heading out and that there are no true switchers around the yard, so they will have to switch their own trains. Nicholas decides to turn the tables and give Spencer his turn to be humiliated, so he tricks him into sorting out Will's train. Will is pleased, but Spencer is shocked and furious when he hears that wasn't switching his own trains. Three days later, Will apologizes to everyone for not heeding their warnings. At the same time, Josiah is talking on Facetime with Mater, who decides to show off himself by running long hood forward really fast. Will does not like this, and yells for Josiah to turn Facetime off, ending the episode. Locations * Highland Valley * Tidewater * Industrial Wasteland * N&W Christianburg District * NS Chicago Line * NS Lake Division District * Pittsburgh * Decatur, IL * Conrail NJT * Clovis Sub Characters * Will * Nicholas * Lily * Josiah * Shawn * Lilim * Mr. Edwards * William * Skips * Mater * Kaleb * Mr. Shibley * Chuck * Harrison * Jared * Joe * Foxy * Alan * Stephanie * Spencer * Schneider * Melvin * Stewie * Kara * J.P. * Theseus * Wallace * Sportacus * NS Paul (does not speak) * NS SD70M #2628 (not named) * NS SD70M-2 #2761 (not named) * Jared's Engineer * Will's Engineer * Will's Conductor * Tidewater Yardmaster (not named) * Teduka (cameo) * Mordecai (cameo) * Marie (cameo) * Miranda (cameo) * Amber (cameo) * Cameron (cameo) * Ben (CSX) (cameo) * Carter (cameo) * Matthew (cameo) * Jun (cameo) * Fives (cameo) * Ryan (CSX) (cameo) * Caleb (cameo) * Margaret (cameo) * Zane (cameo) * Jordan (mentioned) * May (mentioned) * Mr. Wyatt (mentioned) Trivia * This episode will mark the first of a few things: ** Mr. Shibley, CSX Ryan's and Caleb's first appearances. ** First time Melvin is seen with his proper number. ** Nickel Plate Road Guy 765, Ahatbears, Railroad,Preserver,2000, and Railfanning Jonah join the cast. *** Harrison, Wallace, and Mater gain human voices. ** First time the Union Railroad visually appears in the series. ** First time the NS C40-9s are shown as the Jointed Rail models and NS SD70Ms are shown as the SRS models. * Stock footage from a cancelled episode is used. * The creator's catch of the Loram Rail Grinder in Hunton, VA in 2014 is referenced. * The beginning scene is a recreation the creator’s catch of NS V18 with a LHF GEVO leading. * When Harrison says "I don't need turntables. With my dual control stand, I can run just as well backwards as forwards", it is a reference to the Thomas The Tank Engine ''episode, "Tenders and Turntables". * Second time a Greenscreen effect is used in the series, after When It Rains, It Pours. * Paul from Sixteen Strong Years makes a non-speaking cameo appearance. * The events of Change of Plans are referenced in this episode. Stock footage from that said episode is also used. * When Nicholas says "He won't like that", and the narrator says "Nicholas was right. Will grumbled dreadfully over the next few days", it is a reference to the ''Thomas The Tank Engine ''episode "Donald and Douglas". * While not clearly seen, NS 1700 is leading the local that passes Nicholas and Skips. * Will saying "He thinks I'm a silly engine and orders me about. I'll show him", is a reference to the ''Thomas The Tank Engine ''episode "Duck Takes Charge". * This is the second time Spencer gets tricked after teasing an engine, followed by Highland Valley Hobos. ** Coincidentally, Nicholas got help from Skips both times. * Mater running fast backwards is similar to how in ''Cars, Mater is a pro at backwards driving. Goofs * There is a background noise anytime any of Benthetrainkid's characters speak. * The narrator pronounces "prevalent" wrong. * On one of the opening scenes, some gondolas are missing their running numbers. * The narrator says that Harrison had a few cars, but the train is shown with plenty of cars. * On one transition scene, Will's interior can be seen for a split second even though it wasn't in the preceding or next scene. * On the scene with Nicholas and Skips taking their train, there is a bit of blur. Episode Category:Season 4 Category:Episodes Category:Episodes not split into parts Category:Will-themed episodes